I am not sure about American equivalent, but in here (Czech), it operates under the name "makro" and it is these kind of hypermarkets for smaller and middle sized bussinesses and they have everything in smaller prices and bulk sizes/bigger boxes, that don't make sense for individuals but do make sense for, say, a small restaurant.
from wikipedia:
"Core customer groups are hotels, restaurants, caterers, traders and other business professionals."
Speaking off the record as an employee of a (seriously) gigantic US/Canadian distributor of things, I can tell you a couple facts.
One, if you're in the US or Canada, you've seen our trucks and our stores and probably have no idea what we actually do for our money. And two, that's the way we like it. The company actually has customers sign a contract saying they won't advertise their supplier, and on one occasion refused shipment to a charity for breech of contract when they put our name on their list of sponsors. We made $60,000 off the lawsuit.
There are mega corporations who like to be known. And there are mega corporations who would prefer that only their customers know they exist (and even then, only reluctantly). I would guess that there are more of the second kind than of the first.
Not allowing your name to be used is quite normal. Company I know doesn't allow other companies to show that they have that company as a customer.
Reason for that is branding. The other company is basically advertising using the name of another company. That is a big no. It is sort of saying "company X buys from us, so you should too".
We found out a vendor was using our name to pimp their products to other distributors. That vendor was then caught with bad policies that allowed their product to become infected with malware. As we were dealing with that issue, we got a call from one of our competitors asking if we were infected as well, as they knew we used the same product from the same vendor.
You're absolutely right, keeping your brand carefully under your control is absolutely critical.
Well the issue at hand was, the company didn't want its name advertised. This was made clear in the contract. The charity specializes in supplying the same goods the company supplies (overstock is given away and written off), so there was a long history of cooperation. Until the charity decided they needed to advertise on our behalf.
I just work in information security for the company of 15,000+ employees, so it's not my call in any way. I can both see where the company stands on the issue, and where the charity stands on the issue. Working the job I do, though, I am glad the company works hard to keep a low profile. No one ever sees us as a target because no one really knows we exist.
It's huge in Brazil too. Their stores are most popular among small business owners (or very large families), since you get better prices buying in bulk. They're also usually located in somewhat remote parts of the city.
Makro (and cash & carry's in general) are pretty interesting. You have to know of them either through someone else to actually find out about them, do very little advertising.
However, if you can find someone with a Makro card, make them your best friend.
from wikipedia: "Core customer groups are hotels, restaurants, caterers, traders and other business professionals."